Thousands of Bodies Still Litter Irrawaddy Delta

By MOE AUNG TIN / THE IRRAWADDY DELTA
The Irrawaddy News

More than a month after Cyclone Nargis, thousands of dead bodies still lie in the sodden rice paddies, fields and waterways of Burma’s Irrawaddy delta. Farmers reluctant to take on the grisly task of removing decaying corpses from their land are paying volunteers 1,000 kyat (US 80 cents) for each body they dispose of.

No official organization has taken on the responsibility of collecting the dead, identifying them and giving them a proper funeral, residents complain.

“It is very sad for the families of the dead,” said a Bogalay resident, who reported seeing hundreds of bodies on the banks of the Bogalay River.

“Priority should be given to helping survivors,” he said. “But we should also consider the dignity of those who lost their lives in the disaster. I feel they’ve been neglected.”

Comparisons are being made with the practice adopted after the 2004 tsunami, when every attempt, including DNA testing, was used to identify the dead,

“In the case of Cyclone Nargis, if the bodies can’t be indentified by DNA testing, at least they should be collected and buried,” a Rangoon resident said.

"Identifying bodies at this stage will be incredibly difficult," said Craig Strathern, a Red Cross spokesman in Burma.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has expressed concern about the numbers of bodies it says still litter the Irrawaddy delta. Some have been dumped in canals and unmarked mass graves or cremated, while others remain untouched, according to a report by The Associated Press on Sunday.

Although the military regime ordered three days of national mourning for the cyclone victims from May 20-22, Burma’s spiritual leaders complain that no state-sponsored religious ceremony has yet been held.

Wai Moe contributed to this report.